Claremont Graduate University’s MS and PhD programs in Botany focus on systematics and evolution of higher plants. The programs are offered in conjunction with California Botanic Garden, one of the nation’s premier research-focused botanic gardens.
Claremont Graduate University’s PhD in Botany is a research-intensive program with a robust fieldwork component. Located in a unique 86-acre learning environment dedicated to conservation of the state’s flora, program highlights include a botanical library, fully equipped molecular and anatomy laboratories, comprehensive herbarium, scanning electron microscope, greenhouses, and growth chambers. You’ll find abundant opportunities for hands-on research at California Botanic Garden, working alongside collegial faculty-mentors dedicated to advancing knowledge in the field. A seminar series addressing topics of systematic and evolutionary botany is offered weekly during each semester and draws attendees not only from our student body, but also from the biology research community, faculty, and students at nearby colleges and universities.
Botany students may pursue concentrations in the following subdisciplines:
- Comparative morphology
- Floristics
- Molecular systematics
- Monographic and revisionary studies
- Phylogenetics
- Plant anatomy
- Plant geography
- Population and conservation genetics
- Reproductive biology
This program is STEM designated, allowing international students who hold F-1 visas to apply for OPT work authorizations for a total of 36 months (an initial 1-year period and a 24-month OPT STEM extension) of paid work experience in the U.S. after graduation.
